


Pluviophile

by fandomshere_fandomsthere



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Barry is too precious for this world, Fluff, M/M, Ross is a grumpy bean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 11:30:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8326144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomshere_fandomsthere/pseuds/fandomshere_fandomsthere
Summary: Pluviophile: a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.





	

            It’s cold, and Ross is grumpy. An unusual cold front is making its way through LA, and with it, it’s brought clouds and temperatures that don’t get above fifty degrees. The sky has been completely overcast, slate gray and dull. Ross has to wear a light jacket in the middle of summer. If this was happening in winter, he wouldn’t mind. In the middle of July, however, he hates it. Hates the cold winds that make him shiver, hates the constant smell of rain threatening to fall, hates the weak light that manages to filter through the clouds, hates how chipper Barry is about all of it.

            Barry has been more productive than usual. He’s always at the office early, energetic during Steam Train sessions, and is even in the middle of making another editing tutorial. He greets everyone with smiles and bubbly good mornings and has a spring in his step. The cold breezes don’t penetrate his flannels and jeans and long socks that have little pigs on them. Ross has always known that this kind of weather was Barry’s favorite by far, but he hadn’t ever considered that it would affect his friend so much.

            Ross is currently wrapped up in a blanket, sitting on Barry’s couch with his sketchbook on his lap. Barry is playing Overwatch and chatting with Ross. Normally Ross would be at home, but Holly is away for the weekend and he’s lonely. Dan and Arin are on tour, leaving Barry and Ross alone in the apartment. It’s harder for Ross to be gloomy about the weather when he’s with Barry. With the cold outside, the sounds of the game in the background, and the softness of the blanket, Ross feels warm and content. The light pattering of rain on the window only adds to the cozy atmosphere.

            “Hey, is it raining?” Barry asks as the drops begin to fall in greater numbers, smacking against the window loudly.

            “It has been for a little while,” Ross answers without looking up from his sketchbook. He’s in the process of making a new character concept for Gameoverse. The couch creaks and the controller bounces off of the cushions on to Ross’ paper, jolting it and causing an ugly black streak to go through the middle of his drawing. He turns to scowl at Barry, but the frustrated expression is wiped off his face almost immediately.

            Barry is standing with his face and hands pressed against the window like an excited child looking in the window of a candy store. He looks back at Ross, a huge grin on his face, his blue-green eyes alight. Ross raises an eyebrow at him, trying to ignore the way his heartbeat just picked up.

            “It’s raining!” Barry says, oblivious to his character dying on the television.

            “It sure is, buddy,” Ross says. He smiles and shakes his head at the little giggle that escapes Barry’s lips as he turns back to the window. Ross begins to erase the line splitting the concept character’s face in half when he feels Barry’s hand on his bicep.

            “Come outside with me,” Barry says.

            “What?” Ross replies incredulously. “It’s raining. And it’s cold.”

            “Exactly!” Barry says, the excitement in his voice obvious.

            “I don’t want to get sick,” Ross says. He swats Barry’s hand away and returns to his sketchbook. Barry crosses his arms and pouts.

            “I’ll just go by myself then,” he says, and before Ross can properly register it, Barry’s gone, the door closing behind him.

            “Barry come back!” Ross yells at the door.

            “Make me!” Barry yells back, his voice already growing distant. Ross sighs in frustration and runs a hand down his face before closing his sketchbook and standing up. He discards the blanket and tugs on his shoes. In his haste, Barry hadn’t even grabbed the keys. Ross snatches them from the kitchen counter as he walks past, grumbling to himself. After a moment of consideration, he takes the stairs rather than the elevator, figuring he’ll get outside more quickly that way. The rain pounds against the windows, and he thinks he hears thunder in the distant. Barry’s going to get himself struck by lightning at this rate.

            Ross pushes the door of Barry’s apartment building open, a small shiver running through his body from the cold. The sound of the rain is practically deafening outside—it’s coming down in buckets. It would take mere minutes to get soaked to the bone. Ross stands under the awning of the apartment building, careful to avoid the edge where a few drops of rain have managed to fall despite the cover.

            “Hey, you came!” Barry says. He’s grinning even more widely than he was in the apartment. His dark hair is drenched, clinging to his forehead. His green flannel clings to his arms, and the black shirt he’s wearing underneath is plastered so close to his body it’s like he isn’t even wearing a shirt. Ross feels like he walked in on Barry standing fully-clothed in the shower. He bites his lip as his eyes travel down Barry’s dripping wet form, heat creeping up his neck. He comes to his senses and snaps his eyes back up to Barry’s face.

            “You’re gonna catch pneumonia, asshole!” Ross shouts to be heard above the rain. “Get back inside!”

            “You’re no fun,” Barry says, placing his hands on his hips.

            Ross rolls his eyes. “What’s fun about standing in the rain exactly? It’s just like a shower. A _cold_ shower.”

            “Just try it.” Barry sloshes forward, his hand outstretched towards Ross. Ross eyes it carefully. Barry sighs, “If you play along I’ll come back inside faster.”

            “Fine,” Ross grumbles. He takes Barry’s hand and lets himself be lead out into the torrential downpour.

            The rain is freezing, and it soaks Ross’ hair within seconds. He shivers as it plasters his shirt to his skin, rivulets running down his neck and spine. It feels like he’s standing under one of those giant water buckets at water parks that periodically dump their contents on the ground. Ross doesn’t understand what Barry likes so much about this. He’s cold and soaked and probably resembles a disgruntled wet cat, and his sweatpants feel like they could fall down at any moment with the extra weight on them.

            The moment Barry turns to him, all of the air in Ross’ lungs comes out in a whoosh and the crease between his brows smooths out. Droplets of water are clinging to Barry’s eyelashes and Ross is sure Barry’s never smiled at him quite like that and despite the lack of sunlight Barry’s eyes are sparkling and his cheeks are red from smiling so hard and his laugh is one of the most beautiful sounds Ross has ever heard. Suddenly the rain is magic. It’s transported Ross to a place where nothing matters except for Barry. He grips the other man’s hand tightly, the only source of warmth in this cold, wet place, the only thing keeping him from flying away.

            “So?” Barry asks, snapping Ross out of his haze. “How is it?”

            “It’s, uh,” Ross says, swallowing thickly. “It’s not as bad as I thought.”

            “Yay!” Barry throws his hands up in the air, and Ross chuckles. The editor closes his eyes and tilts his head towards the sky, a blissful smile on his face, his hands still in the air. The sky has gotten dark enough that the streetlights are turning on, and surrounded in a dim halo, the rain caressing him, Barry looks ethereal. His eyes open when lightning flashes across the sky and thunder rumbles a few moments later.

            “We should really get back inside,” Ross says.

            Barry bites his lip. “Do we have to?”

            “Unless you want to get struck by lightning, yes.”

            Barry nods distantly, still staring at Ross. Ross holds his gaze for a moment but quickly falters, looking instead at the other side of the street over his shoulder. Barry’s closer than he was a second ago. Ross can almost feel the heat radiating off of the other man’s body, and he balls the hem of his shirt in his hands rather than squirming. His eyes dart to Barry’s face when he feels the other man’s hand gently cupping his cheek.

            “B?” Ross says, his voice no more than a whisper.

            “Your eyes look really blue right now,” Barry murmurs. His tongue darts out to wet his lips unnecessarily and his eyes flit to Ross’ mouth. Ross is surprised the rain on his cheeks isn’t evaporating. He opens his mouth to say something, but the words die in his throat as Barry drags his gaze back up to meet Ross’.

            “Have you ever been kissed in the rain?” he asks quietly.

            “N-no,” Ross says. He swallows. “But, uh, I’d like to be.” The smile on Barry’s lips is so small that he can barely see it, and then their lips are meeting and Ross’ eyes slide closed.

            It’s slow, sweet, and a little scratchy due to Barry’s beard. In other words, it’s everything that Ross could have hoped his first kiss with Barry would be. The rain is gone and all that matters is Barry—the warmth of his hand on Ross’ cheek, the feeling of his wet flannel under Ross’ hands, and the motion of his lips. They break apart when thunder rumbles again, louder this time. Barry takes Ross’ hand and they run inside, giddy and giggling like a couple of schoolgirls.

            Later, when Ross is wrapped up in a blanket and wearing borrowed pajamas with his head in Barry’s lap, he silently thanks mother nature for the horrible weather.


End file.
